Bull Trout are the most cold-water dependent fish in the Pacific Northwest and are extremely sensitive to winter floods that flush incubating eggs and fry out of gravel nests. Climate warming will spell trouble for Bull Trout if it leads to warming of streams and increased flooding during the winter.

The Northwest Climate Science Center Announces New University Host and Consortium Partners

The Northwest Climate Science Center (NW CSC) is pleased to officially announce the University of Washington as the new university host for our center. Boise State University, University of Montana, Washington State University and Western Washington University are also new partners in the NW CSC university consortium.

These five universities were selected as the CSC host and consortium partners after an open competition and extensive review by scientific experts. They will work as part of the collaborative network that defines the Northwest CSC. This includes working closely with federal, state, and tribal entities, including those responsible for managing and protecting the land, water, and natural resources of the Northwest, to develop actionable climate science and decision support tools.

Amy Snover of the Climate Impacts Group at UW’s College of the Environment will serve as the University Director. Snover will work closely with the US Geological Survey Center Director, Gustavo Bisbal, along with partners from each of the consortium universities.

The Northwest CSC is one of eight regional Climate Science Centers dedicated to delivering science that helps wildlife, water, land, and people adapt to a changing climate. The CSCs are deeply rooted in federal-university partnerships; each CSC is hosted by a public university, composed of a multi-institution consortium, and managed by the USGS National Climate Change and Wildlife Science Center. These partnerships ensure access to a broad range of scientific expertise, production of high-quality science, and sharing of funds, resources, and facilities. University involvement also allows the CSCs to introduce students to the innovative approach of “co-producing” science, in which scientists and decision-makers work closely together to ensure scientific research and products are usable and directly address real-world problems.

While this announcement marks the beginning of a transition period for the center, its core mission – to provide services to regional resource managers in the form of climate adaptation science, syntheses, tools development, outreach efforts, and training – remains the same. A Stakeholder Advisory Committee will continue to provide crucial input and guidance. The center’s annual Climate Boot Camp, which provides an opportunity for students and early career professionals to improve their climate science knowledge and skills, will also remain a priority.